We have another tree felling request lodged with Midlothian Council
https://planning-applications.midlothian.gov.uk/OnlinePlanning/centralDistribution.do?action=dispatch&caseType=Application&caseNo=12/00057/WTT
Its very straightforward. Identified by Donald Rodger last year when he carried out our woodland survey, 2 trees are rotten at the base and could fall onto a public walkway. They are big sycamores. Felling will be a job for the experts and those that can climb trees and hold a chain saw at the same time.
The tree application system seems to have changed. I worked my way around the on line system and stopped when it asked for a site plan. Never needed a site plan before for tree felling. So instead I printed off the application form and e mailed it onto Midlothian Council. They then asked for a site plan so that must be the system now.
The area where these 2 trees are located is around the back of our ground, above the old railway line walkway. Despite the very high winds last month these 2 trees did not fall. One other tree came down though and we are still cutting up the branches and damaged wood from that. We are left with a small clearing and lots of twiggy branches and limbs from trees, some trapped on the top of another tree. It all looks a bit messy but we will get it tidied up. A new wood pile edging has been started along the top ridge which will be good for wildlife as well as forming a nice barrier.
Taking the barrier all along the ridge towards the back of the tennis courts I have decided to do something about the 20? 30? year pile of waste blaze dumped from the tennis courts. Its quite a heap, nothing grows in it bar the odd bit of holly poking through, and its a dead area. A spade goes in but it would be really hard work to shift it in spade lots. What to do with it though? We could use it for paths but then its very dirty to walk on. We could fill in the "bowled out" area around the tennis club drain which is also a sterile area of ground. If anyone wants some waste blaze and is prepared to collect it then let me know. I'll put it on Freecycle as well.
0131 660 4865
The Water Tower
The Water Tower at Dusk
Friday, February 10, 2012
Monday, January 16, 2012
Magazine Publications and Jan 13th Walk
http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/0cfe4a63#/0cfe4a63/2
There's a very well written article with lovely pictures of the house and woodland in this months publication of Homebuiding and Renovating magazine. The link shows part of the article.
There was also a piece in last weekends Scotsman newspaper which was good apart from the rather drab picture of the house in winter.
On the back of the magazine article, we were visited today by a couple from Heriot who live in Borthwick House. They wanted to talk about timber cladding and how it looks and fades with time. It was particularly interesting for me because my grandmother lived in a small white washed cottage in Stagebank, a 10 minute walk down the road from Heriot. From as early as I can remember my sister and I played in the hills and countryside around Stagebank. Often at the railway line! we had natures playground with a "creepy wood", a "bottomless pond" and a trough of water at the foot of the hills where we washed our faces on the 1st of May every year. What a difference to the playgrounds for today's kids.
It's just gone January 13th, the date my dad died at the age of 59 in 1982. I always walk on Jan 13th and this year it co-incided with a walk for the monthly Advertiser feature for Midlothian. Ian called to suggest the Pentlands and a hill climb! Perfect since my dad always liked to climb hills. We had a great day out.
Some of Ian's brilliant photos including 1 of each of us. Just to prove we did it. Boy has the xmas excess and lack of physical exercise wreaked havoc with my fitness level. To say we had a "Pech" is an understatement.
There's a very well written article with lovely pictures of the house and woodland in this months publication of Homebuiding and Renovating magazine. The link shows part of the article.
There was also a piece in last weekends Scotsman newspaper which was good apart from the rather drab picture of the house in winter.
On the back of the magazine article, we were visited today by a couple from Heriot who live in Borthwick House. They wanted to talk about timber cladding and how it looks and fades with time. It was particularly interesting for me because my grandmother lived in a small white washed cottage in Stagebank, a 10 minute walk down the road from Heriot. From as early as I can remember my sister and I played in the hills and countryside around Stagebank. Often at the railway line! we had natures playground with a "creepy wood", a "bottomless pond" and a trough of water at the foot of the hills where we washed our faces on the 1st of May every year. What a difference to the playgrounds for today's kids.
It's just gone January 13th, the date my dad died at the age of 59 in 1982. I always walk on Jan 13th and this year it co-incided with a walk for the monthly Advertiser feature for Midlothian. Ian called to suggest the Pentlands and a hill climb! Perfect since my dad always liked to climb hills. We had a great day out.
Some of Ian's brilliant photos including 1 of each of us. Just to prove we did it. Boy has the xmas excess and lack of physical exercise wreaked havoc with my fitness level. To say we had a "Pech" is an understatement.
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Jim's Mowing - For All Your Garden Works
I used this company recently to get trees and shrubs planted. I don't usually look for help but (a) I was working long hours and (b) some of the planting required a great deal of muscle power. They planted yew trees and shrubs, Cherry trees and Aspen trees for me.
This company operates under a franchise agreement. They are a terrific bunch of guys. Good humoured, neat and tidy and no job too difficult. I don't have a regular garden with swathes of lawn but if you are in need of garden services of any kind, I recommend this company.
From their web site. http://www.jimsmowing.co.uk/
Jim's Mowing was started in 1982 (in Melbourne, Australia) by Jim Penman - one man with a lawn mower and an urgent need to pay the rent.
With his unwavering dedication to providing excellent customer service, Jim's business quickly outgrew what one man could handle. Trying to service his customers without compromising the quality of his work proved quite a challenge, and after trying a number of ideas, he launched the Jim's Mowing franchise system in 1989.
Jim believed that by offering training and support to others, combined with clearly defined standards of customer service, he could build a strong reputation while attracting both clients and franchisees. The business has been so successful that there are now 2000 Jim's Mowing franchisees worldwide, servicing over ten thousand customers every day.
We are very excited about our expansion into the United Kingdom. Research suggests the UK is the biggest market we have yet entered and we are determined to deliver the same reliable, friendly and professional service that has made Jim's Mowing a household name in Australia, New Zealand and Canada.
Monday, January 9, 2012
Breezy Start To 2012
Last year is now old and I can't say 2011 will be memorable for its sunny weather. I have less garden or woodland photos than usual from the year but here are a couple of interesting shots for the record.
2011 was dominated by our second renovation of the water tower after the damage caused by a burst pipe. All is going well and works are very nearly complete. A company called "Jims Mowing" planted 2 large Yew trees at the door of the tower as well as a yew hedge at the back and trees in the woodland.
The yew trees were an effort to fit into the ground but with the uplighting and a chance to settle I think they will look good for many years to come.
The start of the year though will for ever more be marked by tales of damage caused by windy weather. At the water tower the damage was not too bad but we didn't escape either.
The wind speed was over 100 mph at times and our outdoor xmas tree blew over along with small items I never knew I had tucked away. Then all the lights went out! we had our power cut off.
The storm damage around us was quite striking with large trees and branches falling onto local power lines and one large tree lying across the now less-than-straight Eskbank sewer pipe. That will be an interesting repair I’m sure for Midlothian Council.
With a house that was shoe horned in between 3 large trees we were rightly concerned. My favourite of the 3 is the Beech and this type of tree is known to be at risk for limb loss. We had it surveyed pre build and crown lifted to take the weight off. All was good. The other 2 are Sycamore and again pruning works have lightened the top load and no damage ensued. Not so good for our direct neighbour when a tree from the tennis club lost a large limb and it fell inches from their car and onto their front gate and pillars.
The calm after the storm now prevails and we took stock of any damage to our trees. A very very large Beech tree had snapped about 2 feet off the ground revealing an inner core of dark brown crumbling decay. The tree was lying near the edge to the steep drop to the river below, quite a distance from our house and in a little used area of the woodland.
Yesterday with the help of some expert chain saw users G and I managed to clear the ground and cut up the large limbs from the fallen tree to make the area safe although there's more to do. The main trunk is now lying safely at the edge. It looks stunning against the backdrop and it has created a long sitting out area with a lovely view.
Need a name for this new patch. Think I call it "The Beech".
The surrounding trees and the view beyond at this time of the year. 
2011 was dominated by our second renovation of the water tower after the damage caused by a burst pipe. All is going well and works are very nearly complete. A company called "Jims Mowing" planted 2 large Yew trees at the door of the tower as well as a yew hedge at the back and trees in the woodland.
The yew trees were an effort to fit into the ground but with the uplighting and a chance to settle I think they will look good for many years to come.
The start of the year though will for ever more be marked by tales of damage caused by windy weather. At the water tower the damage was not too bad but we didn't escape either.
The wind speed was over 100 mph at times and our outdoor xmas tree blew over along with small items I never knew I had tucked away. Then all the lights went out! we had our power cut off.
The storm damage around us was quite striking with large trees and branches falling onto local power lines and one large tree lying across the now less-than-straight Eskbank sewer pipe. That will be an interesting repair I’m sure for Midlothian Council.
With a house that was shoe horned in between 3 large trees we were rightly concerned. My favourite of the 3 is the Beech and this type of tree is known to be at risk for limb loss. We had it surveyed pre build and crown lifted to take the weight off. All was good. The other 2 are Sycamore and again pruning works have lightened the top load and no damage ensued. Not so good for our direct neighbour when a tree from the tennis club lost a large limb and it fell inches from their car and onto their front gate and pillars.
Yesterday with the help of some expert chain saw users G and I managed to clear the ground and cut up the large limbs from the fallen tree to make the area safe although there's more to do. The main trunk is now lying safely at the edge. It looks stunning against the backdrop and it has created a long sitting out area with a lovely view.
Need a name for this new patch. Think I call it "The Beech".
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Water Tower and Cottage Pre Conversion
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Harry Potter Steps
These steps were created on the steep slope this last year. It has taken me 'til now to work out how to attach this photo because it was taken by a professional photographer called Nigel Rigden. I'm sure he won't mind having this picture used on this blog site. Are these steps not truly something out of a Harry Potter scene? I walk them most days and it kinda compensates for not walking up and down the water tower steps these days!
The steps link to the access steps created previously down to the top of the very steep edge. It was a mammoth task to create the access (thanks to Mick and Niall) but now we have safe and secure access for planting. In this last month, 6 more quite large Cherry trees have been planted and 6 new small Aspen. Now Aspen is native although not that common. It has been planted some distance away at the most precarious section at the base of the "run off" area. I reclaimed the ground here by shovelling the loose soil from the slope to create a flattened section capable of holding plants. I gather Aspen will proliferate by runners and some tell me it will take over. If it sends out a lot of root growth then that will be good for the bank. If this blog is being read by the next owner of the woodland then I apologise if you are thinking of tree surgery now because this has been a mistake. I'm hoping the beauty of the Aspen bark will compensate for any take over, and surely in my lifetime it will create a lovely screen of trees to the park below. If the Midlothian Council tree officer is reading this then be prepared.
Now when I was in Florida I came across this. I wonder where the inspiration for the access steps came from?
Published in SWOG
http://www.swog.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/NL-Nov2011-final.pdf
SWOG the Small Woodland Owners' Group have published the first of 2 articles that I prepared. I'm not sure its my best prose but I am keen to get my message out to woodland owners who might have issues with planning permission.
This monthly newsletter is very interesting apart from my own contribution. All woodland and wildlife lovers will find something interesting I'm sure.
27th Dec 2011
Susan
SWOG the Small Woodland Owners' Group have published the first of 2 articles that I prepared. I'm not sure its my best prose but I am keen to get my message out to woodland owners who might have issues with planning permission.
This monthly newsletter is very interesting apart from my own contribution. All woodland and wildlife lovers will find something interesting I'm sure.
27th Dec 2011
Susan
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